Friday's notebook

Posted by Mandy Housenick | August 28, 2009 at 10:22 PM

Brad Lidge got up close and personal with an electric razor Friday afternoon.

The Phillies closer walked into the clubhouse sporting his usual look.Then he disappeared for about 20 minutes and came back looking like a new man with the hope that it will translate into him being a new pitcher.

Lidge became the most recent member of the bullpen to get a buzz cut --- AKA the Ryan Madson look. Chad Durbin and Scott Eyre joined the buzz-cut club earlier this season.

“The rest of the guys in the bullpen knocked their hair down and they told me I was due,” Lidge said. “Fortunately, we have a house barber, Ryan Madson. There’s nothing like a good haircut to get you on a good start.”

Lidge could use a jumpstart, that’s for sure.

Since he leads the league in blown saves with nine, talk is swirling around about having someone else close. Ryan Madson, Chan Ho Park and Brett Myers, who is expected to return from the disabled soon, are all names that have been thrown into the mix.

But Lidge insists he can get the job done.

“For me, one of the things that’s helping me, from where I was at the beginning of the season to now, my stuff’s gotten a lot better,” Lidge said. “In fact, I think it’s as good as it’s been in the last two years, believe it or not. So that helps me to know to get out there and attack the hitters. The consistency hasn’t been there, but I feel good. I feel healthy.”

Lidge, who has a 9.25 ERA at home this season, said he’s relieved that lately he hasn’t been giving up leadoff walks, but he doesn’t like the way he’s been pitching with runners on base.

“I’ve had trouble being effective out of the stretch,” he said. “I feel really good out of the full wind-up, and I need to carry that over to the stretch.”

If manager Charlie Manuel is thinking about switching things around in the backend of his bullpen, he isn’t letting on that he is.

“We signed Lidge to a three-year deal and we signed him as our closer,” Manuel said. “We had confidence in him and he had confidence in us.”

ROMERO STILL FEELING DISCOMFORT

Reliever J.C. Romero, on the disabled list since July 23 (retroactive to July 20), is in town for the weekend.

He said he still has soreness in his elbow and forearm.

“When I throw on flat ground and long toss, my arm feels great,” Romero said. “But when I get to a mound with an angle, I have a hotspot there that keeps me from finishing my pitches.”

Despite being eligible to come off the DL weeks ago, Romero still isn’t sure when, or if, he’ll rejoin the team.

“If it stays like this, I might just tough it out,” Romero said. “But I can’t finish my pitches, and if I can’t do that, I won’t be effective.”

Romero never expected that the injury would keep him out this long.

“It’s really getting to the point where it’s getting kind of annoying,” he said. “I didn’t know it would be this long. I thought it would be a week to 10 days, max. I’ve talked to different people and they tell me tendonitis comes and goes and sometimes it hurts more than others.”

DID YOU KNOW?

Ryan Howard (36), Jayson Werth (29), Raul Ibanez (27) and Chase Utley (27) are attempting to become the 12th foursome in MLB history to hit 30 home runs each. The last team to do it was the 2006 White Sox --- Jermaine Dye (44), Jim Thome (42), Paul Konerko (35) and Joe Crede (30). The last NL team to do it was the 2004 Cubs. The first ML team to ever accomplish the feat was the 1977 Dodgers.

Of note:Brett Myers is scheduled to make a rehab start on Saturday with Double-A Reading. The Reading Phillies were rained out Friday and they will play a doubleheader on Saturday, although it has not been announced whether Myers will pitch the first or second game.

Pre-game quote of the day:“There’s always anti-inflammatories,” Romero said. “But I’m a health freak and I don’t like to rely on that.”

Best of Charlie’s chat:“I talk to [pitching coach] Rich [Dubee] all the time, and we definitely need to find places to pitch Jamie [Moyer].”

Stat of the day: Since 2007, the Phillies lead all major league teams in outfield assists with 102. This season, they rank fifth in the NL and seventh in MLB with 27.

Visiting team tidbits:Outfielder Nate McLouth, who missed 10 games with a strained left hamstring, was slated to begin an injury rehabilitation assignment Friday with Double-A Mississippi. If all goes well, he’s expected to rejoin the club Monday, the same day he is eligible to come off the DL.

Recent Comments

Pre-game quote of the day: “There’s always anti-inflammatories,” Romero said. “But I’m a health freak and I don’t like to rely on that.”
This guy is unbelievable.
Nice to add this one in Mandy, we can hardly believe this baloney either.
At least for one night, Lidge looks a bit better.
Let's see how it goes for the rest of the weekend.
Comfortable lead in the standings, but being a Phillies fan, you are always reminded of the greatest collapses of all time, one being the Phils in the 60's. So, the team has to keep plugging away every day like they do.